THE IMPROPER WIFE

An underdeveloped, lackluster romance mars Perkins's debut Regency. Believing that her husband, whom she thought to be Capt. John Grayson, drowned when she angrily pushed him into a river, Maggie Delaney Grayson rejoices to learn that he's living in London. Soon after a very pregnant Maggie arrives at John's rooms, the stranger residing there helps deliver her child and later reveals that he's the real Capt. John Grayson; apparently, the man Maggie married was merely a rogue with a stolen name. John foists Maggie and her son, Sean, onto his cousin and his wife, Lord and Lady Caufield, while he rejoins his regiment on the continent. Unbelievably, the Caufields discover Maggie's marriage certificate and decide to take Maggie and Sean to Summerton, John's ancestral home, where Maggie ingratiates herself with the delusional Earl of Summerton, John's estranged father. John's return to Summerton two years later is naturally fraught with dissension, especially when he decides to go along with Maggie's claim that she's married to him. Though Maggie and John learn little about themselves or each other during their improbable journey, and their dialogue can be stilted, a sizzling love scene suggests the author is capable of doing better next time. Agent, Richard Curtis. (Nov.)